At the century mark, Wrigley Field remains a baseball mecca

Park may have a few loose bricks, but it's still bullet-proof

A crowd gathered outside the Wrigley box office to purchase tickets for Game 7 of the series, Oct. 10, 1945. (Chicago Tribune)

Nelson Algren once compared his love of Chicago to "loving a woman with a broken nose."

"You may well find lovelier lovelies, but never a lovely so real."

The same could be said of Wrigley Field, an old Chicago house that's aged gracefully over the last century, providing a lasting link to generations of fans.

It may have a few loose bricks, a gridlocked concourse and splashy troughs. It doesn't have replays (yet) or ballpark amenities most fans take for granted.

But Wrigley remains bulletproof — the only ballpark charming enough to negate the lethal combo of a bad team and ticket prices comparable to those of the perennially successful Yankees.

"The concrete fell once or twice when I was there," former first baseman Mark Grace said. "But it's a special place to Cubs fans, and it's special to baseball. I'd love to see it safer for the fans, but you know Cubs fans. They don't care. They love their Wrigley Field, and they don't want it to go anywhere."

The Cubs will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field this season, beginning Friday with the home opener against Ryne Sandberg's Phillies.

Nostalgia will be the overriding theme of 2014. With the Cubs in the middle of a rebuilding process, they're basically counting on the ballpark to sell itself, billing the anniversary season as "The Party of the Century."

Selling memories is easy at a place where so many big moments have occurred, from Babe Ruth's "Called Shot" to Bears championships to the fateful foul ball that deflected off Steve Bartman's hand.

Legends from Red Grange to Eddie Vedder are part of its history, and the likes of Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse have provided much of the soundtrack. Soccer, hockey, boxing and ski jumping events have taken place at Wrigley, while Ferris Bueller's day off included a stopover for a day game.

But most of all, Wrigley Field is the Cubs, the team that has never won a world championship inside its walls but has a devoted national following nonetheless.

A few years ago, former manager Lou Piniella was asked in spring training if he'd ever consider starring in a reality TV show.

"No, I don't think so," Piniella replied. "I have enough reality in the job I have. I don't need to find any more."

In truth, the Cubs have been one of televison's most fascinating reality shows since WGN first telecast a game in 1948, with Wrigley Field serving as the primary stage for a diverse cast of characters that needs no introduction.

Hack. Swish. Dizzy.

Ernie, Billy and Ronnie.

Sammy and Woody.

Some of the moments have been magical, earning a moniker in Cubs history — like "The Homer in the Gloamin,' " the "Sandberg Game" or "8-8-88."

Some magical moments merely led to misery, like the '69 collapse and the infamous Game 6 in 2003.

But win or lose (usually lose) and for better or worse (usually worse), the Cubs' historic ballpark remains a baseball mecca, oblivious to time and a championship drought.

While attendance has dropped for five consecutive years since Piniella's 97-win team of 2008 drew a franchise-record 3.3 million fans, the Cubs still sold more than 5.5 million tickets combined over the last two seasons with teams that lost 101 and 96 games, respectively.

It's not just the sun, ivy and beer that draw fans, although those three attributes are contributing factors. It's the ability to bond with players in a bandbox park where size does matter.

And in this case, smaller means better.

"For me, what makes Wrigley so special is the proximity of the fans to the players," former closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams said. "Very few parks do you go to that have that kind of access to the players, and as players, we have that kind of access to the fans. I know sitting in the bullpen when I was playing there, I'm carrying on conversations with fans behind me.

"That, and obviously the ivy. It's just been a park that has never changed with the times. There are two ballparks left, really, that are all about what baseball was like back in the day — Fenway and Wrigley."

The Ricketts family has a love of all things Fenway Park and is using the Red Sox's successful renovation of their old-school ballpark as a blueprint for their own.

The Rickettses hope to remodel Wrigley while retaining the old-time feel, adding signage and a jumbo-size video board for what they say are necessary revenue streams. They've run into roadblocks, notably opposition from the rooftop owners over partly obstructed views, delaying their $300 million plan.

But hope springs eternal.

Even those who don't believe this is "the year" for the Cubs predict a settlement will eventually be reached and a new-age Wrigley will emerge over the coming decade.

As the party of the century begins, the real question is whether Wrigley can survive another 100 years.